A beautiful morning and Earthquake

My day started off pretty well. Gymnastics class for Avi and a trip to Yogurt Land afterwards. Avi chose mint chocolate flavor with chocolate sprinkles and I got my favorite mango with fresh blueberries toppings. Neev was happy to share mine. We sat next to the water fountain and enjoyed our yogurt while watching a duck bathing herself in the stream water. After finishing our delicious snack we got up to go but half way thru' to the car Neev's discontent blathering and pointing to the fountain made me decide to turn away and spend a bit more time duck-watching (there was just one duck but she did not seem lonely, as I guessed from all the fun she was having splashing water on herself). It was a beautiful mid -morning afterall and I wanted us to enjoy it.  While the kids entertained themselves , I found the 'massage specials' brochure from the Chinese spa in the complex and imagined a day in spa with a friend followed by a cup of tea at Lollicup Tea Zone next door  (it would entice any tired mom the way these businesses have set their locations in that complex - spa, tea shop, beauty supply boutique......). As I day dreamed about my spa and chai session with friends, Avi noticed that the duck was missing in the stream. 'Where do you think she went', I asked and his version was ' I think she is taken to the rocky mountains and she is being chased by bats and spiders in a cave. Hurry, Mommy , we are animal rescuers and we have to save her'. You have to give me a bit of genetic credit for his amazing imagination. Afterall we both have fantasies (if you forgot I was woolgathering too just a moment ago ) :) . I suggested that we rescue the duck by going around on the wooden bridge and the fountain, pretending it was his cave. Finally we found the duck hiding behind some rocks in the stream and 'Avi saved the day' by rescuing him from bats and spiders. Our 'mission' was over and we headed back home. 

Around 11.40 A.M. I put Neev in high chair and just as I finished strapping him, I felt dizzy, like the ground under me was moving. At the same time the windows in the living room started rattling.  Its amazing at what speed your brain thinks ...at first I thought there must be some fixing work going on upstairs but when my T.V. started to shake and I felt some more vibrations under and around me, and the windows kept rattling , it hit me.........................it's an earthquake !  I've lived in California for over two years now and we've had a couple of earthquakes since. I did not feel them since they were during the night (imagine how bushed I must have been that even an earthquake could not wake me). Anurag felt them both the times and not that I wished for it but I was kind of curious how it felt. And now I know ! When it struck my mind that it was indeed an earthquake that I was experiencing, I was totally out of my balance (figuratively). I panicked. All I remembered was Gujarat Earthquake in India in 2001. My mind was racing about how to get my kids to safety. Because I survived to blog about it, you may laugh at me at my crazy thoughts but in that instance how was I supposed to know what was to follow.....another one may be, aftershocks? Who knew? Geologists have been predicting a big one which would wipe half of Northern California, well, may be they just forgot researching Southern California's plates because of all the attention it already gets with its wild fire and all. I mean just last August we survived a mandatory evacuation due to wild fire by just a couple of miles, And now this earthquake ! I seem to be living in an attractive place even to all possible natural calamities. Back to my reaction- I got Neev out of the high chair, held Avi's hands and ran outside bare feet. Avi  who also felt strange kept saying ,"Mommy , I need my shoes". I met other people who also got out and when some of them who've been in this 'earthquake zone' for long told me this was just a baby one. I felt kind of sheepish with our feet sans shoes and sorta dislodged demeanor. So, we returned back home. Visibly I was shaken up but took comfort in Avi's almost anodynic offering,'don't worry Mommy, next time I am going to shoo the earthquake with my magic wand'. My imaginative child did not know how much that calmed my nerves. I called Anurag and of course he was not at his desk. Moments later he called back and my fist sentence was,'did you feel that?". Sure enough every one from L.A. to San Diego did. 

Its everywhere in the news but I would like to mention that the earthquake was measured 5.4 on Richter scale (Gujarat was 8.2) and was termed 'moderate'. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 35 miles from us. No reports of any serious damage or injuries so far. 

So this was my day - a beautiful morning shaken by an earthquake later !